Mudblood
by quaffleswithsyrup
Summary: Severus Snape, Lily Evans's oldest friend, just called her a Mudblood. SWM told from Lily's POV.


**Disclaimer: **Last time I checked, I wasn't J.K. Rowling. But I mean... you never know.

**Word Count: **2,128

**Women's History Task #1: **Write about someone who is treated differently or wants to be treated the same as someone else.

_Mudblood_

Lily Evans flicked through her book lazily, pausing on page 212. "Sev, do you think the Vanishing Spell will be on our Transfiguration O.W.L.? McGonagall hinted that it might be, but Dorcas thinks that - "

"Shut up, Lily, shut up," Severus Snape hissed, standing. He drew his wand, and his face darkened.

Lily glanced up. Her curls fell across one eye, and she pushed her hair out of her face. "Sev? Sev, what is it - "

But before she could finish her sentence, a voice rang out across the grounds. "_Impedimenta!_"

Severus was immediately thrown back onto the ground, shoved backwards by an invisible force. It seemed as though he'd had the breath knocked out of him, and he was struggling to move.

James Potter and Sirius Black. Namely James Potter. Of _course._

"How'd the exam go, Snivellus?" James asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"I was watching him," Sirius responded with a laugh, cutting in before Severus could say a single word. "His nose was touching the parchment. There'll be great grease marks all over it. They won't be able to read a word."

Lily's face had turned a shade of red as dark as her hair, and she struggled to speak. She was so angry. James Potter - _James Potter _\- what a disgusting, what a slimy, awful, what a horrible - oh, she couldn't manage to say a word, she was so furious. That atrocious boy -

"Wait - " Severus tried to stand up, but hadn't yet regained his balance. "You - wait - "

"Wait for what?" Sirius asked, amusement dancing across his face. "What are you going to do?"

"Yeah, Snivelly," James said. His eyebrows shot up in mock fear. "Wipe your nose on us?"

Severus continued trying to stand, spluttering incoherently.

"Oh, wash out your mouth. _Scourgify!_"

Severus fell to the ground once more, pink soap bubbles now dripping out of his mouth.

And Lily finally found her voice.

"You leave him _alone!_" she screamed, stalking towards James. She felt sick. This _disgusting _boy - this horrible bully - how _dare _he think he could treat Lily's best friend this way?

James diverted his gaze from Severus, focusing his attention on Lily now instead. He ran a hand through his hair, his wide grin fading to a charming smile. "Alright, Evans?"

Lily glared at him. "You leave him _alone. _What's he ever done to you?"

"Well - well, it's - it's more the fact that he exists, you know?" James winked, and Sirius snorted.

"You think you're _funny_?" Lily asked quietly, her voice quivering with suppressed fury. "You're just an arrogant bullying _toe-rag_, Potter, leave him alone!"

James paused and ran his hand through his hair again. Lily thought hotly that it was almost as if he found himself attractive.

"Alright," James finally said. "I will. _If _\- if you go out with me, Evans."

Lily's mouth opened, as though she were going to say something, and then shut again. How could this boy think she could _possibly _want to - to go out with _him? _To go out with James Potter? Oh, she would _kill _him one of these days -

"Come on then, Evans." James twirled his wand in one hand, a huge smile spreading across his face. "Go out with me, and I'll never lay one on old Snivelly again."

"I wouldn't go out with you if it were a choice between you and the giant squid," Lily spat savagely. She knew her voice was shaking, but she couldn't care less.

"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius said with a grin, laying a hand on James's shoulder. "I reckon - oi!"

Severus had managed to grab Sirius's wand while the latter had been distracted, and he shot a spell at James without saying a single word. In spite of the dire situation, Lily couldn't help but be impressed by his skilled nonverbal magic.

A gash appeared on James's face, gushing blood. James froze - he touched his hand to his face, shocked - he grimaced - and then -

Severus had been flung upwards, suspended by his ankle in midair. _More _nonverbal magic, this time on James's part. Was Lily the only one who hadn't been able to get it right?

She tore her thoughts away from the magic and focused her attention on the scene in front of her. Severus. In midair. James Potter. James Potter -

"You let him _down_!" she shrieked fiercely, running forward. "Let him down!"

James turned to her, panting. "Certainly," he replied bitterly. And, still staring at Lily, he released Severus with a flick of his wand. Severus fell to the ground, hitting the dirt with a hard _thump. _

He scrambled up, pointed his wand at James. But before he could do anything -

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" bellowed Sirius, flinging his arm toward Severus. Severus toppled over onto the grass, stiff as a board and unable to move.

James moved towards Severus, but Lily, unable to watch any more of this, stepped out in front of him. "Leave him alone," she said, voice trembling. "Leave him alone."

"Ah, don't make me hex you, Evans," James said, a smile returning to his face. It looked out of place on him now - so much blood - _so _much blood.

"Take the curse off him then," Lily responded sharply, willing her voice not to break. It didn't, somehow.

James closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Finally, he looked at Lily. "Fine." And with a jerk of James's wand, Severus was jumping to his feet. "There you go."

James glanced at Severus. "You're lucky Evans was here," he said indignantly, glaring at Severus.

"I don't need help from a filthy little Mudblood like her!" Severus bellowed.

Lily flinched as if she'd been slapped. Surely she couldn't have heard right - but she had. This was Severus - Sev, her best friend - and he'd called her a Mudblood. Tears stung her eyes, and she pulled away from the world, her heart throbbing.

"Yeah, fine," she whispered. "I won't bother in the future." Raising her voice, she added, "And if I were you, _Snivellus, _I'd wash my hair." She turned on her heel and strode forward, begging the heavy tears in her eyes not to fall.

"Apologize to Evans," James said as he turned to face Severus, his voice dangerously low.

Lily spun around. She needed someone to take her anger out on, and James would do perfectly. "I don't want you to make him apologize! You're just as bad as he is!"

"What?" James cried. "I would never call you a - well, a you-know-what!"

"Okay, then. Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you just got off your broomstick - showing off that stupid Snitch of yours all the time - walking down the corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you - I am _surprised _that your broomstick can get off the ground with that big head of yours! You make me _sick_!" Lily was crying now - ugh, dear God, she hadn't wanted to cry in front of these _stupid _boys.

So she turned and ran.

She didn't know where she was going, but she was going _somewhere. _And when she finally reached the castle, she ducked inside, and she kept running. She kept running until she found an empty corridor, a small corner that she could sink down into.

And she cried, pouring out her anguish. She sat there in that corner, her body wracked by sobs. It wasn't fair. God, it wasn't fair. Those _stupid, _those _awful_, those _disgusting _boys -

There was James, always tormenting Severus, always trying to get Lily to go out with him. She didn't _want _to, and she didn't want to even more after today. She didn't ever want to speak to James Potter ever again, damn it.

And then there was Severus. At the thought of him, Lily's hands, which had long since gone still, started trembling again. Severus. Severus, who'd come to her house when they were younger and introduced himself, who'd ridden with her on the Hogwarts Express when they were eleven, who'd made sure she'd had a _friend _when she started at Hogwarts - who'd just called her a Mudblood -

Oh, God, she was shaking, she couldn't stop shaking. She couldn't breathe, she felt dizzy - she needed to calm down - she needed to _calm down. _

Lily took a deep breath. The tears spilling down her face were silent now. She'd never been this upset about something in her life, and she didn't know how to deal with the pain. How could she confront something like this? It was so hard for her to accept the fact that Severus had just - he'd just - he'd called her a disgusting _slur. _

And for what? Because she had two Muggle parents? That's why the insult existed in the first place. It was because some witches and wizards were born into Muggle families. That was the only reason.

And what else had come from being a Muggle-born? Nothing but pain. There were the Death Eaters, all Severus's stupid little Death Eater friends and their parents, and the way they targeted people like Lily. The way they _attacked _and _murdered _people like Lily.

And Lily was so damn sick of this shit. She was sick of being treated as a second-class citizen because of her parentage. She was sick of being called a Mudblood every other day by Mulciber and Avery and all of them - and now Severus too, apparently. She was sick of _fearing for her damn life. _

Lily hadn't noticed that Marlene McKinnon had sat down next to her until Marlene said softly, "Lily? Are you alright?"

But the only thing Lily could see when she looked up at Marlene was a half-blood witch. Lily couldn't see her best friend, or the girl who sat next to her in the Great Hall in first year. It was too damn hard, and now all Lily could see was a half-blood.

"No," Lily said, her voice too loud. "No, I'm not." Her eyes were swollen and red, and her throat was sore.

Marlene nodded. She leaned back and closed her eyes. For a moment, it looked as though she planned to just lay next to Lily. But then she said, "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Lily didn't really want to tell her. But Marlene _was_ her best friend, whether that was easy right now or not. "Severus called me a Mudblood."

Marlene exhaled sharply. "Oh, Lily. People are stupid. And - "

"No, Marlene, this isn't _stupid,_" Lily said bitterly. "Severus wasn't being _stupid _when he called me a Mudblood. Just like Death Eaters aren't being _stupid _when they murder Muggle-borns just like me. Remember what Mulciber did to Mary last week, just because she was a Muggle-born. _Remember._ That could be me next, Marlene. It could be _anyone. _This isn't _stupid, _Marlene, it's life or death! No one deserves their life more than me just because my parents can't swish around a magic wand and say 'abracadabra'!"

Lily hadn't even realized she'd been raising her voice until she was shouting, her voice ringing through the hall. And now Marlene had tears in her eyes, and they were both crying, and neither of them even knew.

They were both quiet for what must have been five minutes, and then Marlene whispered, "I'm so sorry, Lily."

Lily shook her head, wiped her face, and stood up. "I love you, Marlene. You know I do. But _your_ apology isn't what I need. I need one from the world."

She walked off, leaving Marlene behind. She felt bad, but she needed to be alone. Which is why she locked herself in her dorm room and collapsed onto her bed.

Lily Evans had never been one to cry, but it seemed like everything was sideways today already. Sideways and upside-down and so completely broken.

Severus had called her a Mudblood. And in the past, there may have been some way to go back, some way to fix what had been broken. But now? Now there couldn't be. Because this wasn't a game anymore. This was Lily's life. And if Severus was going to choose the side of Lily's persecutors, then so be it. But you can't switch sides in the middle of a war.

No, there was no coming back. Because Severus had called Lily a Mudblood.

Lily was fast asleep by the time Marlene got back to the dorm, so Marlene crawled into bed and said a quick prayer. She'd never fancied herself a religious person but, as Lily had so eloquently pointed out, this was war. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

As Marlene prayed, she only asked for one thing: an apology from the world.

And then she fell asleep, and although one girl was a Muggle-born and the other was a half-blood, they were both the same in their sleep.


End file.
